CHAPTER VII
THE RUSTLERS
At a word from his master the well trained Buckskin doubled up, and laydown on the ground. Most cowboy ponies are taught to do this trick bytheir masters, and it is in common use; so that the punchers believe itis a poor animal that has not learned to roll over and play dead onoccasion.
Bob, too, managed to induce his mount to do the same thing; but to makeit absolutely certain that no unwise flounder on the part of Dominomight betray them, he sat upon the horse's head, soothing him by littlepats on his glossy hide.
"I hear 'em coming," announced Frank, presently.
The sounds reached him against the wind, so that it was quite naturalto believe the approaching horses must by now be very close. There wasa confused pounding that could only spring from a large body ofanimals. The trained ear of Frank caught a significance in the clashof hoofs that told him much more than Bob was able to make out.
"All horses, Bob," he whispered across the little gap that separatedhim from his chum; "and two thirds of 'em running free, without saddlesor riders. Lie low, now, and see if you can glimpse 'em as they gopast."
"Won't they be apt to run over us?" asked Bob, a bit nervously.
"Nixy. I looked out to pick a place they'd be apt to avoid. They'llbrush past a little further to the south," and Frank ended his wordswith a hiss of warning.
The pounding of many hoofs continued. Frank, straining his eyes,believed he was now able to make out a confused moving mass at somelittle distance away, heading directly toward the foot of ThunderMountain.
As the starlight was so vague he could not make out more than that hereand there a figure was mounted on a galloping horse, with severalunridden animals trailing along behind, as though led by ropes.
The little caravan passed quickly. Already they were vanishing in thedeeper shadows lying closer to the base of the mountain that toweredaloft several thousand feet.
Still the two boys continued to sit there, guarding their horses;although all danger of discovery seemed absolutely past.
"Whew!" exclaimed Bob, presently, as the sound of retreating hoofsbegan to die away; "what d'ye think of that, eh, Frank?"
"Indians?" queried the Kentucky boy, eagerly.
"Well," replied his chum, "not so's you could notice. Say, now, youdidn't see any feathers on their heads, did you? And I sure heard thefellow nearest us say something that only a white man would remark,when his horse stepped into a hole, and almost threw him over its head."
"Cow punchers; or perhaps rustlers?" continued Bob, anxious to know.
"What would cowmen be doing away off here, tell me that, Bob? Andlugging along a bunch of extra mounts, too, in the bargain? No, Irather think, Bob, that those fellows must have some of Mendoza'scattle rustlers. And they've been making a dandy raid on some ranch'ssaddle herd; or I miss my guess."
"Perhaps the Circle outfit had gotten careless," suggested Bob.
"I sure hope not, for the boys have had plenty of warning; and I reckonBart Heminway is some too good an overseer to permit such a raid. I'drather believe it was the X-bar-X outfit that has gone and got nippedthis time. But stop and think Bob; what d'ye expect takes thesecattle-rustlers over this way right now, headed straight for thecanyons of Thunder Mountain?"
"Oh, I see what you mean!" exclaimed the taller lad, immediately."Perhaps the secret hiding place of Mendoza and his crowd of cattlethieves may be somewhere around this same old rock pile. It'd be justlike the tricky rustler to have a hide-out where nobody else ever came!"
"Now, why didn't somebody ever think of that before?" ejaculated Frank,in a tone of mingled surprise and disgust.
"Looks easy, doesn't it, after we've run across a clue?" admitted Bob,laughing softly. "You remember what they said about discoveringAmerica, after Columbus did it. But supposing this thing _does_ turnout to be true; how's it going to affect our little business, Frank?Oh! say, I wonder if that crowd can have anything to do with therumbling of the mountain?"
Frank laughed heartily at the suggestion.
"Well," he remarked, "they're a pretty tough lot, all right; but evensuch a bad bunch could hardly get enough hot air together to make amountain shake and groan like that. Besides, don't you see, Bob, theymust have been out yonder, riding this way with their stolen horses,when that little circus came off."
"But one thing is sure," the other went on, sturdily; "they don't seemto take any stock in that notion about a volcano, because, as we saw,they headed straight for Thunder Mountain. That gives it away; they'reso used to the row that they don't pay any attention to it any longer."
"Correct!" echoed Frank, as though his mind was made up.
"Do we need to hold the horses down any longer?" asked Bob, who couldfeel that Domino was becoming very restless under his enforced silence.
"I reckon not," replied the other, at the same time taking the blanketfrom Buckskin's head; whereupon the animal, recognizing this as a signto rise, quickly gained his feet and shook himself.
"It's back to the blankets again for another nap," remarked Bob, whenhe, too, had seen his animal regain an upright position. "Wonderwhat's next on the programme for us. Twice, now, we've been waked up;and I don't know whether it's really worth while trying to get any moresleep to-night. It isn't a great ways from dawn, is it, Frank?"
The other cast a quick look up at the stars. Accustomed to readingthese heavenly sign posts of the night, he was able, from theirpositions, to give a pretty fair guess as to the hour; just as the sunserved him in place of a watch during the day.
"Three hours yet to dawn, Bob; no use staying up all that time," hesaid, presently. "We expect to be on the move again at peep of day;because, after what's happened, it'll be wise for us to get off thelevel here before broad daylight comes along. There might be curiouseyes on the watch up yonder, on Thunder Mountain; and that, you see,would just spell trouble for our crowd."
"Whew! things are thickening, for a fact!" exclaimed Bob.
"I was only thinking," Frank continued, "whether we ought to try andget word back to the ranch about our discovery. If they knew Mendozaand his rustlers were hiding somewhere about this place they'd comb thewhole mountain range so they could run him to earth. He's been thepest of the border too long now, and something's just got to be done tochase him back where he belongs, south of the Rio Grande."
"But you don't want to go back just yet, do you, Frank?" asked Bob,uneasily.
"I'm ready to do what you say, though I'd like to stay," came theprompt answer.
"Then I say, let's stick it out," declared Bob, with animation. "Itmight turn out to be a false alarm, after all; and we'd feel prettycheap to bring all the boys along, and then not be able to show 'em anygame. No, I say it'll be time enough to go after 'em, when we makedead sure!"
"That settles it, then," remarked Frank, with a little laugh, as thoughpleased to learn that his saddle chum looked at the matter in such asensible light.
This time, after they had lain down in their blankets, there was nofurther alarm. Frank, from long habits of early rising on the range,awakened just as the first faint streaks of dawn began to show in theeastern horizon.
It required but a touch to arouse Bob; and saddling up, with packs inplace, the boys soon left the scene of their night bivouac, headingtoward the heavy growth of timber directly at the foot of the mountain.
The early morning mists concealed their movements until they hadentered among the timber; when they left they were safe from anysuspicious eye, should the bold Mexican rustler have posted any watcherupon the side of the mountain.
Again did the saddle boys build a small fire in a hole, over which theyproceeded to cook their breakfast; while the horses cropped the grassnear by, secured by the ever useful lariats, or riatas.
"There's where this leads into a big gully," remarked Bob, later on,pointing as he spoke to where the ground became broken.
"Yes," Frank went on, thoughtfully, "and the chances are ten to on
ethat it changes into a regular canyon, where the water rushes downwhenever they have one of those gushers, or cloud bursts, that comealong once in a while around here. Now, I wonder if those riders hitit up this way?"
He jumped to his feet as he said this. Passing back and forth, Frankseemed to be examining the ground, marking the stepping stones of themountain.
"Signs aplenty around here," he remarked. "Wish old Hank was along toread 'em. I reckon I can tell what they stand for, though."
"Then they went on up that canyon, you believe?" asked Bob.
"Reckon there isn't any doubt about that part of it," chuckled Frank;"though just where that same canyon leads I can't say. P'raps it maybe a short-cut across the big range here, leading to the prairie on theother side. P'raps it doesn't go anywhere, but just leads to a blindhole that I've heard prospectors call a _cul de sac_. Anyhow, we oughtto find out, Bob."
"_They_ knew all right," remarked the other, positively. "Wouldn't getany riders going up there in the dark, unless they were mighty familiarwith every foot of the way. That's my idea, Frank."
"And I reckon it's the true one," asserted the other. "They know thisplace as well as I do all around old Circle Ranch."
"There's the sun coming up; and perhaps we'd better be getting a moveon about now?" suggested Bob.
"Wait!"
Something in the tone which his saddle chum used caused Bob to turn hishead, and look out toward the plain.
"Huh! what does that mean?" he ejaculated. "A single rider headingthis way; and he seems to be leading a burro loaded with supplies.Must be a bold prospector, bound to look into the secrets of ThunderMountain as we're bent on doing; only he hunts for gold, while we'rejust bent on finding things out."
"But look now," Frank said a little later, as the other came closer."Don't you see that it's only a little Mexican boy on that bag of bonesof a horse? Tell you what, Bob, he must have been sent to town forfresh supplies by some party of gold hunters located right now over therange."
"Yes, and how do we know but what this Mexican boy is hooked up withthat Mendoza crowd?" asked the other, seriously. "They might send himoff for grub, and such things as they happen to need. And he pays forit with money they get from selling stolen cattle and horses! Nobodywould suspect him, Frank, and try to follow. I hope our horses don'tgive us away now. I'd like to see what that little fellow does."
The boy indeed looked weary as he drew closer, leading his tired burro,upon which a fair-sized load was strapped and roped.
"Get down, Bob," said Frank. "He hasn't glimpsed us, and, luckilyenough, our horses are feeding out of sight just now. Doesn't he looksleepy and tuckered out though? See him nodding in his saddle, poorlittle runt! Oh! what's that moving there among those rocks justahead?"
"Perhaps it may be one of the rustlers coming down to interview him,"said Bob.
"Hist!" Frank uttered almost in his chum's ear as he craned his ownneck in order to see better.
The small boy on the tired broncho, and leading the patient burro, kepton steadily advancing, apparently allowing his animal to follow itsnose, as though it knew the way fairly well from having passed along itbefore.
"Look! look!" ejaculated Frank suddenly, jumping to his feet. "Greatguns! Bob, would you see what is coming out from among those looserocks there? A great big grizzly bear; and making straight for thepack mule, sniffing the air as if he smelled grub! There, the horsehas scented him. See him rear up, will you? Oh! he's gone and doneit, as sure as you live--thrown the boy over his head! And the poorburro is caught fast, with his leading rope held in a crotch of therocks. The boy will be killed if ever he meets up with that monster!Quick! We must do something to save him, Bob, but whatever shall itbe?" and Frank leaped to his feet.